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Month: March 2014

One of the craziest, funniest and dumbest movies is “Oh Brother Whereforer Art Thou?” I have seen the movie at least 20 times. There are so many moments within this movie to write about, but the word “bona fide” is one of my favorites.

During the movie, Everett, played by George Clooney, is on the run from the law. He had escaped from jail and wanted to set some things straight with his family.

Everett discovers that his family is present at a political rally. They are with a man who happens to be the campaign manager of a gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi, Vernon. He also happens to be Everett’s ex wife Penny’s fiancé. When they finally meet in the 5 and 10 Store, Everett proceeds to call Penny an “a lying unconstant succubus”. Vernon tells Everett “whoa, whoa! You can’t swear at my fiancé!” Everett answers back “Oh, yeah? Well, you can’t marry my wife!” Is it just me or is this gold! All of this took place because Everett was told by his kids and by Penny that Vernon was “bona fide” and that he was not.

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, “bona fide” is defined as “real or genuine.” Everett knew down deep that he was not “bona fide”. He also knew that he had to change to win his family back.

You see Everett had lied his way out of his family and into the lives of three men who had trusted him. He lied about being an attorney. He lied about having over a million dollars stashed away. His lies had to be covered up with other lies. Does this sound familiar? It sounds like an addict to me.

The moral of this story is being truthful to yourself. If you are struggling with the truth, then admit it to yourself and God first. Living a lie will lead to destruction. It can be either be your destruction or destroying someone else. Being honest with yourself and others is living a “bona fide” life.